While there was a slowdown in action on health care in Washington due to the shutdown there were some debates taking place in some states as far as the Affordable Care Act. In Idaho opponents to expanding Medicaid coverage under the ACA went to the state Supreme Court to overturn a 2018 voter initiative that
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) received some new support in defense of its existence last week. As part of the new House rules package, the Speaker can weigh-in with the courts in support of the law. The action by Speaker Pelosi is a reversal of past actions of House Speakers (Boehner and Ryan) who
Late on Friday, December 14, Judge Reed O’Connor, Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division, issued a court ruling, that strikes down the ACA in its entirety. For now there are no changes in the current status in the ACA. What it likely does is push front and center the
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued its annual report on Mortality in the United States and found more bad news. The United States continues to see a decline in life expectancy, something that is unusual for a developed country to experience over several years. The mortality numbers continue to show another increase
On Thursday, November 29, seven judges of the Judicial Panel for Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) heard oral arguments as to why hundreds of thousands of infants born dependent on opioids should be allowed their own representation in a separate proceeding from the nationwide opioid litigation currently proceeding against several large pharmaceutical companies. The Child Welfare League
Election day brought about one of the biggest single day state expansions of the ACA with voters in three states approving Medicaid expansion under the ACA and some new governors could push for more after they are sworn in next year. Voters in Idaho, Nebraska and Utah all had ballot initiatives to expand Medicaid coverage
Shaquita Ogleetree On October 15, the Hamilton Project, the Brookings Institution and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities co-hosted a forum to explore work requirements and the role of anti-poverty programs. The Hamilton Project released its economic analysis report on how work requirements in Medicaid and SNAP affect the goals of a social safety
On Wednesday, October 3, a new report was released, Evaluating State Mental Health and Addiction Parity Statutes: A Technical Report, ranking the fifty states A through F on whether or not they are providing parity access to mental health and substance abuse treatment consistent with the federal law. That law generally requires health insurers to
The Senate approved the Substance Use–Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act’’ or the ‘‘SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act’’ or HR 6 on Wednesday, October 3 by a vote of 98 to one. The lone vote was by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) with Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) not
Shaquita Ogletree On Thursday, October 4, First Focus hosted their annual event, Children’s Budget Summit to discuss the findings in the Children’s Budget 2018 report. The report captures and analyzes historical funding data and spending trends across a wide range of policy areas including child welfare, early childhood, education, health, housing, income support, nutrition, safety
